PEORIA, Ill. ? After opening the 2007 season last week at the Illini Challenge, the Bradley men and women's cross country teams return home to host the 22nd annual Bradley Open Friday afternoon at Detweiller Park. The race begins at 5:30 p.m. with the men's 8,000 meter and will be followed by the women's 5,000 meter race at 6:15 p.m.

The race once again includes a solid group of participants, featuring 19 schools and over 390 participants between the women's 5K and the men's 8K events. This year's event will also include over 100 participants from six junior high schools. The men's field includes the defending Bradley Open champion, Northern Iowa sophomore Dorian Ulrey, in addition to Indiana State, which claimed both the men's and women's team titles in 2006. The Indiana State men's cross country team has claimed the last three Missouri Valley Conference championships.

The Open marks the first 5K race of the year for the Bradley women's team, and the first 8K race for the Bradley men. Last week, freshman Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.) led the women's team with a 4K time of 15:13, good for a 14th place finish at the Illini Challenge. Senior Nathan Leech (Fremont, Neb.) finished 13th at the Illini Challenge with a career-best time of 19:10.09 in the 6K to pace the men's team.

The Bradley Open kicks off a big weekend of running in the area. The Woodruff High School Invitational will be held Saturday at Detweiller Park and Sunday will be the fifth running of the Illinois Valley Striders Half-Marathon at Lower Glen Oak Park. The weekend's events are co-sponsored by the Peoria Park District, New Balance, Illinois Valley Striders, and Running Central.

The Bradley Open is the first of three running events hosted by Bradley University this fall. Newman Golf Course will serve as the site for the Bradley Classic on October 12th (Men - 4:15 p.m. / Women - 5:00 p.m.) and the Braves will host the NCAA Midwest Regional for the second time in the last four years on November 10th (Men - 11:00 a.m. / Women 12:15 p.m.).

Friday's Results will be posted on the Bradley Athletics website (www.bubraves.com) after the conclusion of both races.